Victim Of Glenview Mariano's Shooting Pleaded For His Life: Prosecutor

GLENVIEW, IL — With a gun pointed at his chest, a Mariano's shift supervisor pleaded for his life before a co-worker fired a shot at him, according to court documents obtained by Patch. The gunshot missed, striking a freezer instead, and the documents allege the co-worker, who has a criminal history, quickly fled the store following the late night incident on Jan. 20 at 25 Waukegan Road. The victim was not injured.

Anthony Reschke, 31, of the 5800 block of N. Virginia Avenue, Chicago, is charged with first-degree attempted murder, and was arrested on Jan. 21 at his home. He remains in the Cook County Department of Corrections after being denied bond on Jan. 24. Reschke's next court date is set for Feb. 8.

According to a bond proffer provided to Patch by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, Reschke has a criminal history. In 2011, he was sentenced to three years in prison on a felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle charge. In addition, Reschke has a misdemeanor battery charge from an incident earlier that year that resulted in a one-year probation sentence and one-month prison sentence.

At the time of his arrest at his home in Chicago, authorities said Reschke admitted to police he was in possession of two "ghost guns," or untraceable and unregistered firearms. He also told police he was a convicted felon and knew he was prohibited from possessing the guns, but said he "would get more guns anyway," according to prosecutors. After his arrest, Reschke was taken to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation.

Police recovered the following items from inside Reschke's home:

• A maroon and black 9 mm handgun, loaded with an extended magazine and one round of ammunition in the chamber (no serial number of make). The extended magazine had a 9-round capacity, and was loaded.
• A black and tan 9 mm handgun, loaded with an extended magazine and one round of ammunition in the chamber (no serial number or make). The extended magazine had a nine-round capacity and was loaded.
• One black satchel type of bag next to the guns containing: four loaded 9 mm magazines (unknown amount of ammunition) and one plastic bag containing 50 rounds of 9 mm ammunition

In addition, two loaded 9 mm magazines were found in Reschke's car following a search warrant. Police said one magazine had a six-round capacity, while the other magazine was a nine-round capacity.

According to police, Reschke posted a photo on social media of what appears to be the two guns recovered at 7 p.m. Jan. 20, prior to starting his shift.

RELATED: Man Charged With Attempted Murder Following Shooting At Mariano's

Reschke, who was employed as a midnight stocker at the grocery store, clocked into work at 10 p.m. Jan. 20. The 34-year-old victim was Reschke's shift manager. The store was closed to the public at the time of the incident.

At around 10:20 p.m., court documents say Reschke, who was wearing a black satchel type bag around his chest, approached the victim to discuss a recent work suspension for attendance-related issues. He appeared to be upset and blamed the victim for the suspension, according to a witness. Prosecutors said security video shows the two arguing, but the eventual shooting incident did not occur in the view of the cameras.

Reschke then began threatening to fight the victim, who also said he would do the same. A store manager attempted to deescalate the situation and separated the two. According to prosecutors, the victim then began to move backward away from Reschke, creating distance, but he in turn continued advancing toward the victim.

Reschke was between seven and 20 feet away from the victim when prosecutors allege he pulled a 9 mm handgun from his pocket. Court documents state he pointed the gun at the victim, holding it at chest level, and began to argue with the victim once again. The victim began pleading for his life, raised his hands, showing that they were empty.

According to the documents, the victim told Reschke that he has kids and walked backward away from the defendant, but Reschke continued to hold the gun raised and pointed it at the victim before firing one shot in his direction. The shot missed the victim and struck a freezer located behind him. A witness saw the shooting from inside the store.

Prosecutors say Reschke then fled from the store, entered a car and drove away. When police responded shortly thereafter, they recovered one fired 9 mm cartridge from the area where the incident occurred.

Glenview police told Patch last month additional charges in the case are pending. Detectives investigated the shooting with assistance from the CCSAO.